Otogakure's Captive
by SasuNarufan13
Summary: Takara grew up with stories about war hero Uzumaki Naruto being a captive of Otogakure's Kage, Uchiha Sasuke. After years of training, the time has come for her to save their beloved hero - without wondering whether he needs or wants to be saved … OC's and Naruto's pov; established slash; implied MPreg; violence; more warnings inside


**Author's note: If you've read 'Hokage's Shadow' you know what you can expect from this one. This idea hit me a little while after I finished 'Hokage's Shadow', so voilà. (My mind's random as hell lately.)**

**Warnings: OC's pov and Naruto's pov; set a bit after the war; violence; established slash; implied MPreg; implied character death**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.**

**I hope you'll like it!**

* * *

**Otogakure's Captive**

"And thanks to this brave man, we're all free and the villages have started working together instead of waging war."

Takara paused and peeked into her brother's bedroom, smiling when she saw the captivated look on his face as he listened attentively to their mother's story. It was a story she had told Takara many times before when she'd been her brother's age and she could easily mouth the words as mother spoke them.

"It's because this man was so brave, so selfless, that we can all be happy now and live in peace."

"Where is he now?" Yoshinori asked awed.

Mother grew sombre and Takara worried her lip between her teeth, her own heart growing heavy. This story had always been her favourite, but the ending was always sad.

"He was taken by an evil man," Mother murmured, stroking the boy's hair back softly. "That man threatened to hurt other people if Uzumaki-sama didn't go with him and to keep us safe, Uzumaki-sama did what he said. It's been seven years now and that evil man still has him."

Yoshinori's lower lip trembled and his eyes started watering. "Nobody can save Uzumaki-sama? But he did so much for us!"

"I know, my sweetheart, but the villages don't dare to go against him, scared of what he'll do," she sighed before she smiled and looked at Takara, who straightened up immediately. "But don't you worry, my dear Yoshinori, he'll be saved soon, I promise."

That seemed to reassure the eight year old, because he smiled and sighed relieved before wriggling deeper underneath his blanket. Takara waited until mother had turned off the light in her brother's room, before following her into hers. Father had the night shift tonight and wouldn't be home before seven in the morning.

"Are you ready, Takara?" Mother asked softly, folding her hands in front of her. Her face was grave, but her eyes were lit with a fire she'd never seen before.

"Yes, mother, I packed everything I needed and I went over the plan again," she said, linking her hands behind her back. "I'm ready."

"You cannot make a single mistake," Mother warned her, narrowing her eyes slightly. A lock of her curly hair escaped from the hairband before she pushed it back behind her ear. "If you do, it could be fatal."

Takara took a deep breath and inclined her head. "I realise that, mother. I swear to you that I will not fail. I know what is at stake here and I won't allow any mistake to happen."

Mother studied her for a while with an unreadable face before the corners of her mouth briefly pulled up in a faint smile. "I know you won't, because I made sure you were trained by the best. I know you can handle this task; you're my daughter after all."

Takara couldn't help but preen slightly. Mother's compliments were rather sparse, so she treasured them whenever she received one.

Mother stepped forwards and embraced her; her scent of coconut and vanilla surrounding the fourteen year old for a moment. "You're going to make us proud, I know. You're going to make everybody proud, because you'll be the one to save Uzumaki-sama and bring him back to where he belongs: with us."

"I will, mother, I swear," Takara said determined, jutting her chin up.

She'd trained for years for this important mission. While other girls her age had started paying attention to boys, figuring out ways to catch their interest, she'd been training until deep in the night, learning high ranked techniques as soon as she was ready for them.

She was the only one trusted with this important mission and she wasn't going to fail. She would not allow that to happen.

"Good luck, my child," Mother whispered and kissed her forehead. "I will see you soon again."

"You will, mother. The next time you'll see me, I'll be standing right next to our saviour," she promised, gripping mother's hands.

* * *

She waited until the guards changed shifts, knowing she had a window of two minutes to leave unnoticed. She'd studied her father's schedules carefully each week, noting the changes and new additions. They were living in rather peaceful times now, yes, but that didn't mean the village had just abandoned the guards at the gates. One would have to be stupid to do that.

So she waited patiently for the time of the shift change to arrive and once it did, she jumped onto a nearby roof, taking care to touch down without making a noise and remaining in the shadows, before throwing herself over the wall, landing on the other side. She pressed herself against the wall for a couple of seconds, in case someone had somehow still noticed her departure. They shouldn't, because she'd planned her leaving in detail, but she had to be careful now.

When she was certain she remained undetected, she started running, throwing one last look behind her before the trees swallowed her up.

Next time she would see her home town again, she wouldn't be alone.

She'd make sure of that.

* * *

She travelled for a full week, only stopping to rest for a couple of hours and find some food and water before setting off again. She wanted to arrive there quickly so she could set her plan in motion as soon as possible. She would have to do some investigation first, take note of how the place was built, the possible escape routes, but that was a worry for later. First, she had to get there and more importantly: be brought inside the walls.

Once she was inside, one of the most difficult parts of the plan would be accomplished already.

The closer she got to the village, though, the more uncomfortable she started to feel. Otogakure had been rebuilt a year after the Great War had ended by a man named Uchiha Sasuke. The Uchiha had once been a very important clan in her own village, she knew, before they'd fallen into disgrace after the Nine-tailed Beast had attacked Konoha.

She didn't knew the full details – not many in the village seemed to know – but after that attack, the entire Uchiha clan had been moved to the outskirts of the town and people started keeping an eye on them. A couple of months after the move, one of them, Uchiha Itachi, had snapped and slaughtered nearly his entire clan, leaving just his younger brother alive before fleeing the village and becoming part of an organisation named Akatsuki – a group which ultimately ended up hunting down Uzumaki Naruto.

She assumed having his entire clan slaughtered by his own brother had made something snap in Uchiha, something which had festered throughout the years until it had ended in him rebuilding Otogakure and forcing the rest of the villages to acknowledge him as the Otokage. Six months after having declared himself Otokage, he'd demanded Uzumaki Naruto to become his captive in exchange for leaving the rest of them alone.

The reasons why he wanted him specifically were rather vague. Some thought he'd taken Uzumaki, because he was the last living Jinchuuriki and had held control over the other Bijuu during the war; using Uzumaki as some sort of weapon in a sense. Others thought it was because of their long history with each other and Uchiha found amusement in tearing Uzumaki away from the village he'd sworn to protect. He'd wanted to prevent Uzumaki from becoming a Kage himself, they said, because he refused to let him have that much power.

Because Uchiha craved power – that was something everyone had seemed to agree on. They craved power from the moment they were born and they would stop at nothing to obtain it – even going as far as keeping an important war hero, a man who'd brought hope to the entire village, captive.

Takara didn't know what the actual reason was for Uchiha to keep Uzumaki captive and she didn't particularly care either. All she cared about was fulfilling her mission and end Uchiha's tyranny.

If other villages wouldn't do something to help Uzumaki Naruto, she would just have to do it on her own.

If Uzumaki could save the entire world on his own, she could save him. It was the least she could do in order to repay him for everything he'd done for Konoha and the world.

* * *

"Otokage-sama, there's a girl waiting to speak with you."

Takara kept her gaze trained on the floor, looking demure as the other guard – a lanky, white haired guy with weird, pointy teeth and almond shaped, purple eyes – kept an eye on her. He had a very large sword strapped to his back and he was just dressed in a dark, high-collared button down with light coloured upturned sleeves and black trousers.

The other guard, who was talking to the Otokage now, was a woman with uneven red hair, who wore a black pair of glasses and was dressed in only a white button down shirt with a light purple tie and very short black trousers. None of the guards seemed to wear a particular uniform, which made it hard to distinguish whether they were actual guards or just people living in the town.

"A girl?" a deep voice asked flatly. "Someone from the village?"

"No, she hasn't told us much, only that she's named Atsushi Takara and that she fled her own town after it got raided by bandits," the woman replied.

Some would consider it stupid to use her real name, but she wasn't planning on keeping it once she was finished here. A name was just a name after all.

"She wants sanctuary here?"

"Seems like that, yeah. Should I send her in?"

There was a long silence in the office and she reminded herself to just breathe normally. She was supposed to be exhausted and in shock; they wouldn't expect her to be listening in to the conversation happening between the Kage and his guard.

"Fine, send her in. I'll talk to her."

"Very well."

The door opened and the woman stepped outside, waving her hand. "The Otokage is ready to see you now," she remarked and took a couple of steps back to let her walk through.

"Thank you," Takara whispered and wringing her hands together, she hesitatingly entered the spacious office, keeping her gaze still aimed to the floor.

"Atsushi Takara?"

She jerked up her head and widened her eyes. In front of her behind a dark wooden desk sat a man with black hair, bangs covering his forehead. His eyes were a deep, unfathomable black which stared at her almost unnervingly intense. He was as pale as alabaster and had sharp features; any other situation and she might have considered him to be quite handsome. Easily the best looking man she'd seen so far.

He brought his fist underneath his chin and leant forwards slightly. "Take a seat," he murmured; his gaze flickering briefly towards one of the two chairs in front of the desk.

"Th-thank you, sir," she stammered and scuttled to the nearest chair, sitting down right at the edge of it.

"Karin told me you're seeking sanctuary here?"

Well, he didn't beat around the bush, did he? "Y-yes, Otokage-sama. My – my town – bandits attacked us and – and I was the only one who got away," she whispered, a tear falling down and splattering apart on her torn skirt.

"Which town do you come from?"

"I come from Hiyou, Kage-sama," she answered, sniffing. "It's – it's a small town in the Land of Water."

She didn't know whether there was an actual town called Hiyou in the Land of Water, but given that much of the area there was still unexplored by the rest of the world, given the often harsh weather conditions, she knew choosing a place there would be her safest bet for her story.

Uchiha could decide to send someone there to verify whether there was really a town called Hiyou, but that would take months and not every town was eager to talk to strangers.

"You're the only survivor?" Uchiha frowned slightly.

"Y-yes, my town – we weren't with a lot, but we were happy and we – we didn't bother anyone, but then they came and …" she trailed off, clasping a hand over her mouth to suppress a sob.

"Otogakure isn't exactly close to the Land of Water. Why did you come here?" Uchiha inquired; suspicion lurking deep within his eyes.

"I just – I just kept running, then walking when I couldn't even do that anymore. And then I found this place and I was just so happy to finally arrive somewhere safe. I didn't know it was your town until one of the guards told me where I was," she mumbled, rubbing her nose. She flicked her eyes up once, catching that intense gaze, before she flushed and looked down again, swallowing.

"You want to stay here then?"

"Y-yes, if – if it's not too much trouble. I just – I just want to be somewhere safe and – I just – I don't want to be alone again," she whispered, crying silently.

"You're safe here, I can promise you that," Uchiha murmured. He seemed to have given some sort of sign somehow because the door suddenly opened again, revealing the same red haired woman of before. "You can stay here as long as you like. Otogakure won't turn away someone in need. Karin here will help you get settled and will show you around."

A faint smile as he nodded at her. "Welcome to Otogakure, Atsushi-san."

Welcome, indeed.

* * *

If she didn't know any better, she would almost start believing that Otogakure was a village like all the others. People living here held the same jobs as the inhabitants of Konoha and seemed happy to be here. Children would run freely through the streets and while they often appeared to emulate the training she and her friends had undergone, they apparently didn't get actual training yet.

"Why not?" she asked curiously, watching Honda roll the dough expertly.

Honda was her neighbour on the right side of her apartment and almost the very same day she'd arrived, Honda had introduced herself, assuring Takara she could always go to her if she had any questions or just needed someone to talk with. Honda had left her own home town two years ago after her parents had passed away and she had nobody left to stay for. She'd always wanted to live in a village, she'd confided into Takara, and fortunately for her Otogakure was not only close by but also accepting of people like her.

Honda blinked and paused her kneading. "Well, the Otokage decided on that. Said it's inhuman to train children to be soldiers and made it a local law that children under thirteen years old are not allowed to be formally trained anymore. Nothing stops a parent from teaching their children jutsu of course, but they're not obligated to learn them. When they're twelve, they can choose whether to train to become a shinobi or not, but they won't get any missions until they're at least seventeen years old."

She smiled, a distant look in her dark green and blue eyes. "I know it's not how other villages do it, but I'm glad our Kage decided this. Children should be allowed to be children, instead of becoming soldiers at such a young age. Besides, with the war over now and the villages living in peace, there's no need anymore for such a large amount of shinobi."

"What if the village gets attacked and there aren't enough shinobi left to defend it?" Takara questioned, pursing her lips.

Villages living in peace? Yeah, right, that was only because Uchiha had threatened to unleash another war if he didn't get Uzumaki. There could never be real peace until Uchiha was gone.

The older woman gazed at her surprised. "Oh, but you don't have to worry about that. Our Otokage and his spouse are more than capable enough of protecting us all. That's why a lot of people are happy to live here – because they know they're safe."

"Spouse?" Takara repeated dubiously. She hadn't heard of the Otokage being married. Who would be foolish enough to tie themselves to such a horrible man? "Who's his spouse?"

Honda grinned. "Why, Naruto-sama of course!"

* * *

She remembered making some vague excuses about still needing to compile a grocery list to Honda before leaving her apartment in a daze. She arrived back in her own just in time to dash to the small bathroom and throw up in the toilet, nearly missing it.

How could he … Just how sick was … _How could he have done this?!_

She retched again, her throat burning and her hands like claws around the edge of the toilet bowl. She felt sick to her core, unable to even dare to imagine what kind of twisted, sick things Uchiha was doing to their beloved hero.

_So it wasn't enough to capture him, you had to completely defile him too?_, she directed the silent question at the man completely secluded in his office in the centre of the town; hatred swirling in the pit of her stomach.

She would make him _suffer_. Before she would end his miserable existence, she would make sure he suffered greatly for what he had done to Uzumaki. It would never even come close to the torture he'd put the blond man through, but it would have to be enough before she snuffed out his loathsome presence from their world.

_Enjoy your power while it lasts, Uchiha, because your days are numbered._

* * *

Nobody else seemed to think there was something wrong with a captive being turned into the Kage's spouse. No matter who she questioned, they all had nothing but praise for their Otokage and his spouse, sounding fond when they talked about them.

Like they were the perfect couple. A picture perfect pair. Yin and yang as one cashier chuckled. Soulmates, nodded an old woman wisely. With them leading the village, no harm could ever come to it.

The thing was – the villagers were aware of who Uzumaki was. They knew he was from Konoha, knew he was the last living Jinchuuriki and certainly hadn't forgotten that he was one of the most important war heroes. Yet they all appeared oblivious to the fact that if Uzumaki had had a choice, he would never have been here in the first place. If he'd been free to choose, no pressure of yet another war harming his friends, there was no way he would ever have consented to being here with that man.

How could they all be so wrong? How could they all have forgotten that Uchiha had captured Uzumaki and was using him as leverage against the other villages to let them do his bidding?

Did it somehow have to do with the Sharingan? Nobody outside the Uchiha clan had ever known its true powers; it was a secret every Sharingan bearer had taken with them to the grave. Uchiha was the only true Sharingan user left – who knew what he was capable of? Was he able to control their minds and implant fake memories of how Uzumaki came to live here?

That had to be it, she realised unsettled. There was no other possible reason as to why none of the villagers seemed to be disturbed with what was happening to Uzumaki. It meant she would have to proceed very carefully, lest she be caught in his trap. She'd trained as hard as she could, prepared herself throughout all these years, but the fact remained that the Sharingan was a dangerous, tricky Kekkei Genkai. If she dropped her guard even once, it might already be too late.

* * *

Three weeks after settling in, she finally saw Uzumaki for the first time. In spite of the horrible circumstances, she couldn't help but be awed when she finally laid eyes upon him.

She was on her way back from the market, having bought some vegetables, when she became aware of a commotion further down the street. Nobody seemed to be panicking, but there was definitely a group gathering there, all of them quite excited for some reason.

Curiosity piqued, she hurried over and making use of her lithe form, she squeezed her way to the front of group. Her breathing hitched when she saw what – or rather _who _– had attracted this crowd. She'd only seen him in pictures before, pictures taken years ago, but she would recognise him anywhere.

Uzumaki Naruto stood just a couple of feet away from her, laughing and talking with some of the villagers, waving his arms animatedly around, stressing his words. He was dressed in a simple pair of black trousers and a black mesh shirt, but he wore a black and orange jacket on top of it, unzipped because of the warm weather. His blond hair was sticking out wildly, a tad longer than in the pictures she'd seen of him, and the whisker like marks on his cheeks stood out when he grinned. His eyes were as blue as the summer's sky above them and they briefly slid over her before he looked away again.

With his tanned skin and his golden blond hair and bright blue eyes, he looked like the sun god himself and her mouth dried out at the beautiful sight in front of him.

A sight which was marred when a pale hand reached out and slipped around Uzumaki's shoulders, tugging him against the Otokage. Uchiha lowered his head until his mouth brushed against Uzumaki's ear and whatever he whispered into it, it had Uzumaki sighing and pursing his lips, annoyance flashing briefly across his face, before he turned around in Uchiha's grip, his back towards most of the people now.

Uzumaki muttered something to the other man, but he was standing in such a way that she couldn't read his lips and the general excitement of the crowd around her made it difficult to overhear what they were saying. Whatever it was, it had Uzumaki briefly turning away from Uchiha to wave at the people and blow a kiss at a giggling young girl before he trudged after the Kage. It didn't escape Takara's notice that Uchiha's grip around Uzumaki's hand was quite tight for a supposedly happy couple.

She watched them go, contemplating what she knew so far. So Uchiha did take Uzumaki out in public once in a while. Honda had told her their outings used to be more frequent in the past, but in the last couple of months the two of them hadn't been spotted in public very often. At least Uzumaki wasn't seen alone in the village anymore. Wherever he went, Uchiha now accompanied him and given his schedule as a Kage, that meant Uzumaki's outings were very limited.

It made Takara wonder what had happened. Obviously Uchiha had felt secure enough in his threats to let Uzumaki outside on his own in the past, but something had happened a couple of months ago to have that decision be revoked. Why? Had Uzumaki tried to escape after all and now Uchiha wanted to make sure he wouldn't try that again?

It was possible. From what mother had told her, Uzumaki had always been the headstrong type. Even after agreeing to the trade, it was normal to be yearning for freedom and trying to take it once the opportunity presented itself. Dire circumstances notwithstanding, it made her relieved to know that Uzumaki hadn't given up the fight yet.

She would need to make a move soon, though, before Uchiha would manage to break Uzumaki's spirit completely.

* * *

Two weeks later she was finally in the right position to execute her orders. For the past month she'd shadowed the Kage, taking note of when he left the office at night and where he went to sleep. His house turned out to not be that far away from the Kage Tower; barely a five minute walk.

She'd considered launching an attack when he was still at the office, right before he left home, but that plan carried too many risks as he still knew the place better than she did and the guards she'd met the first day here seemed to orbit around him the entire time. She could handle those two in a fight, she was fairly certain, but the less people involved, the better.

She'd have to catch him unaware at his house, without putting Uzumaki at risk as the latter was forced to live there too. She came to help him, not put him in harm's way after all.

Mother had pressed on her the importance of using anything that could help the mission forwards, even the littlest scrap of information could not be left ignored. That was why Takara had also made sure to keep track of the Kage's schedule, studying his meetings and events in case one of them offered her the perfect opportunity.

It was a good thing she'd done that, because it was thanks to that, that she could now move forward with the rest of her mission. The Kazekage had come to visit Otogakure and the whole village had been buzzing with excitement about that. The rumour mill had informed her that Sabaku no Gaara was still very close to Uzumaki and the Kazekage tended to spend at least a couple of days here whenever he paid a visit. Why he had never attempted to help someone he considered a close friend was something Takara wouldn't think about now. Perhaps his position didn't allow him to make any moves like that, who knew.

The most important thing was that his visit would ensure that she could proceed with her orders. Because while the Kazekage was close friends with Uzumaki, he and Uchiha did not have that kind of relationship at all – which given what Uchiha was doing to Uzumaki wasn't that surprising.

Honda had told her that Uzumaki and the Kazekage usually kept each other company until late in the night while Uchiha tended to retreat earlier on. That would be her moment to strike. With Uchiha alone in his house, Uzumaki safely with the Kazekage, she could attack that despicable man without having to worry about anyone else getting caught in the fray.

All she had to do now was wait for her target to go home.

Leaving the hustle and bustle of the town centre behind, she disappeared between the houses, making sure nobody followed her. Uchiha's house was located in a quiet street – even more so with most of the inhabitants still in the centre of the town, celebrating the Kage's visit – but still she was cautious as she sneaked past the houses, keeping to the shadows. Fortunately for her while the weather was considerably getting warmer each day, it being April meant that the days weren't that long yet and she could use the descending darkness as her cover.

Pressing herself closely against the wall of a neighbouring house, she opened her senses fully, cataloguing what she picked up. The street was dead quiet, not even a stray cat meandering around. Everyone had apparently decided that the town centre was the place to be tonight.

All the better for her.

Another sweep of the area and then she slipped inside Uchiha's house, leaving nothing of her presence behind outside.

And then she waited.

* * *

Uchiha returned two hours later.

She watched from the shadows, wrapped up tightly in a Concealment Jutsu, how the man trudged upstairs, looking incredibly weary. He was still wearing the formal Kage robes, but he'd forgone the hat; maybe he'd left it behind in his office. He paused when he arrived on the landing and she held herself completely still when his gaze swept over her. A frown appeared on his forehead and his remaining hand dipped behind his back, where his katana was strapped to him.

Could he sense her despite the strong jutsu?

She didn't dare to breathe and after a couple of long, gruelling seconds, he huffed and shook his head, striding into the second room on the right. The door swung close, but didn't shut completely and after a couple of seconds, light flooded between the cracks. She could hear clothes rustling – presumably Uchiha changing into his nightwear – another door opening and closing and then opening again after a while. Footsteps walked around in the room and the light was shut off, darkness abruptly settling in again. The bed creaked a bit when Uchiha got in and then everything went silent once more.

She wasn't going to attack him just yet. She would wait a little bit longer still, just until she was sure he was caught in a deep sleep. She wouldn't give him a chance to retaliate.

Some of her sensei wouldn't approve of her tactic, she knew. They thought that one should face an enemy head on and not attack them when they were vulnerable.

She didn't care about that. If her enemy was in a vulnerable state, so much the better for her. Completing the mission was all that counted, no matter what had to be done in order to accomplish that.

An enemy like Uchiha was best caught off guard. She didn't know all the secrets that the Sharingan held, but she had learnt enough about him to know he was a formidable opponent in a fight. Fully aware, she stood a good chance of losing quickly against him. If she could land one strike on him before he would wake up, though, that would heighten her chances of winning quite a bit. Especially if she aimed the strike in just the right place.

Her aim was never off.

Silently she retrieved two kunai from the pouch around her right thigh. The kunai had been dipped in a poison she'd spent two days preparing. When it entered the bloodstream it would render the victim unconscious immediately for up to five hours.

Plenty enough time for her to slip outside the village unnoticed with her target. The route had been planned and secured this morning, so all that was left to do was cut that foul bastard and let the poison do its job.

Soundlessly she stepped forwards, ignoring the floorboards which creaked, and halted in front of the door. She placed her hand on the handle and in spite of herself, her heart started beating just a tad quicker, anticipation pooling in the pit of her stomach. Just a bit longer and Uzumaki would be safe.

A hand shot out and closed on top of hers.

Only her years of training kept her from screaming in fright. As it was, she whipped her head around, her heart in her throat, and froze when she looked straight into contemplative blue eyes.

"I'm going to guess that that peculiar smell on those kunai means that they're coated with some kind of poison. I'm going to give you one chance to explain your presence here and why exactly you're planning to attack Sasuke," he said mildly, but his grip was strong and firm, nearly grinding her bones together.

She swallowed, her throat hurting with the action, and thought about what she would say. Never once in her planning had she factored in getting caught by Uzumaki and she was floundering a tad, uncertain just how much she could tell him. She might need to retreat and come up with a new plan in order to get rid of Uchiha. She considered leading Uzumaki away from here, but that would only bring the both of them in serious trouble.

As long as Uchiha was alive, Uzumaki could never be completely free.

Steeling herself, she decided to be honest in the end. Mother had told her countless times that Uzumaki appreciated honesty the most.

"My mission is to rescue you from your captivity by getting rid of Uchiha Sasuke, the Otokage," she said, forcing herself not to tremble underneath the intensity of his gaze.

He cocked his head to the right in an oddly fox like manner and one corner of his mouth twisted in a half smile. "You're actually telling me the truth. I'm going to be honest with you: I didn't expect that. Usually assassins aiming to take out Sasuke refuse to give me their reasons."

Was Uchiha actually using Uzumaki as some sort of bodyguard against assassins? How despicable.

"Hate to disappoint you, but your mission is unnecessary. I don't need any rescuing, because I'm not a captive here," he informed her casually; his eyes flickering to the hand holding the kunai when she clenched her fist.

Just how much had Uchiha twisted Uzumaki's mind? She hadn't thought him broken yet, but if he actually believed he wasn't a captive here …

It made her stomach clench with horror and sadness for the blond man next to her. He must have undergone an immeasurable amount of torture for him to believe he hadn't been abducted. How badly had Uchiha screwed with his mind? He would need years of recovery.

She was going to make sure he would get that, even if it was the last thing she would do.

"Mother has told me the stories, about how Uchiha forced the other villages to acknowledge him as the Otokage despite the fact that Otogakure never had a Kage in the first place. About how he demanded your presence in exchange for not pursuing another war. I know shinobi have to be ready to sacrifice themselves, but after everything you did for the world, you shouldn't have to be his pawn," she said intensely, hoping to break through whatever barrier Uchiha had put up in the Jinchuuriki's mind. "You should be free – free to go wherever you want to go, free to return home, free to – "

"Whoa!"

His exclamation startled her and she shut up, staring at him shocked.

"I literally have no idea who fabricated that story or why some people persist in claiming that it's true, but I can tell you that that story is nothing but pure bullshit," he said bluntly. "Sasuke didn't force the other villages to acknowledge him as Kage at all. He rebuilt Otogakure, because he wanted to make a _difference_. I love Konoha and will always, but Konoha made a lot of mistakes in the past. Mistakes that cost lives. Suna made mistakes that cost people very dearly. The other villages have their own history they need to deal with. Sasuke wanted to start anew. He wanted to create a village that didn't have a history of bloodshed. He wanted to build a place where people can be happy, where they feel safe. Where no one will ever have to fear being persecuted or used for who they are."

His face softened when he glanced at the door. "So he went and created a new Otogakure, a place where people can be who they want to be. Where children can enjoy their childhood without needing to fight. Where people can love and be happy."

When he looked back at her, his eyes sharpened and red crossed blue for two seconds. "He became a Kage in order to protect his people. The other villages accept that. And I'm here because I want to be here. Not because he abducted me or forced me to become his captive or put me under a genjutsu or whatever story other people concocted."

"But you dreamt of being Hokage. How can you be Hokage when you're living here?" There, that mention of his old dream had to trigger something, wouldn't it?

Uzumaki shrugged. "It's true that for a long time I dreamt of becoming Hokage," he said calmly. "But then I grew up and I realised that Sasuke's more important to me than becoming a Kage. You know why I wanted to become Hokage? So that people would be forced to _acknowledge me_. If I became Hokage, they would have to accept me, would have to acknowledge just how great I was."

He huffed in amusement and shook his head. "I wanted that so badly, but I've come to realise something: the only acknowledgment I ever need and want is from that man here. My best friend, my Kage, my partner in everything. Why settle for a village's acknowledgment when I have Sasuke's?"

He stepped away but not before twisting her hand, forcing her to release the doorknob. "You're still very young. And I can see you've got your heart in the right place if you were willing to go up against Sasuke in order to save me," he chuckled. "But I don't need saving, okay? I really don't know who came up with all those stories about me being forced to be here, but none of them are true. I'm here because I want to be here. That's all there is to it."

"But they said - "

He slashed his hand through the air and she paused. "Who are you going to believe: the stories or me?" He raised an eyebrow, looking at her critically. "I've heard all kinds of variations of that stupid abduction story, you know. You're not the first one to come here and think I need saving from Sasuke." He snorted. "The thing that I haven't managed to figure out yet, though, is why you all believe this moronic story of me being a captive, yet at the same time consider me to be one of the strongest shinobi alive. Do you really think Sasuke would be able to force me to do anything I don't want?"

For just a moment his face flickered and the image of a vicious fox demon shone through, its mouth open in a vicious snarl, showing its dangerous, sharp fangs. Fire red drained sky blue away and the marks on his cheeks darkened and thickened. Deep red chakra pulsated around him, pouring out endlessly, filling the entire hallway with such a presence she thought she was going to choke on it.

It took her a couple of seconds to realise that a large part of the chakra was curling up in the form of nine tails behind the man, the tips of it flicking the walls and the ceiling before one tail slammed against the door – blocking her entrance.

She was staring right at the Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon who'd destroyed her village once before, and at the moment she was filled with utter _fear_.

Because what she was looking at was something that could destroy entire villages, could slash through mountains like they were nothing but soap bubbles.

Even contained in a human, its power was immense, oppressive and dark – and she was only getting a glimpse of it.

One second she was choking on the raw power radiating all around her and the next second, the red chakra disappeared in a flash, leaving just the blond man behind with a sheepish smile.

Uzumaki rubbed over the back of his head and shrugged. "Sorry about that, but I figured you wouldn't believe me until I showed you some proof. You know what I am; you know what I have sealed inside me. If you don't trust Sasuke's good intentions, trust in the fact that I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. If I don't want to do something, I won't – no matter whoever tries to force me." Briefly his eyes darkened before he shook his head lightly.

"Now normally someone trying to attack the Kage would be sent straight to jail, but you're still young and your only mistake was believing stories instead of asking the ones involved whether or not they were true. So I'm going to give you one more chance. You leave Sasuke alone and I won't come after you. If you persist on going after him, though … You'll live to regret it." His eyes gleamed red and his teeth seemed sharper when he bared them.

She would need to retreat for now. It had become obvious that Uchiha's mental hold on Uzumaki went far deeper than she had imagined. He actively believed that he was here out of his own free will and what was worse, he was willing to use his power in order to defend that despicable lowlife.

She would have to come up with a new plan to get rid of Uchiha. First she would need to secure her presence in the village, though. She couldn't risk being thrown out now or landing behind bars; that would only make her mission more difficult to complete.

So even though it stung that she had failed her mission for tonight, she bent down and said apologetically, "My apologies, Uzumaki-sama. I was raised with these stories and believed them without questioning, which is a grave mistake. I hope you and Otokage-sama can forgive me for the horrible mistake I nearly made."

"Ah man, it's okay. If I thought someone was in danger, I would try to rescue them too," he said lightly and lightly touched her shoulder. "You didn't do it in the end, which is what counts. At least I hope you won't try to do this anymore."

"Of course not, Uzumaki-sama. I learn from my mistakes."

"Good." He nodded. "Knowing all this, are you going to stay here?"

"Not for very long," she said ruefully and rose up from her bow. "There are people I need to talk to at home. Before I leave, though, I want to experience the fair here, which I have been told is marvellous."

"It's really quite a treat," Uzumaki agreed enthusiastically, his eyes shining. "It'll take place in one week, so you got here on time. I hope you will enjoy the remainder of your stay here, Atsushi-san."

Unwillingly her head jerked up in surprise. "How do you know my name?"

"I know the name of everyone here," he answered flippantly. "Now if you don't mind, I'm knackered and I've got an early morning."

"Of course, my apologies, I will take my leave now," she said and hastily bowed again before turning around.

"Now that you know the truth, there's no need for those kunai anymore," he hummed.

When she turned around, she saw him holding out his hand expectantly. A muscle in her face twitched, but she dropped the kunai in his hand, inclining her head.

No matter. She could easily whip up another batch of the poison. This was simply a temporary setback.

His hand closed around them and he smiled affably. "Good night, Atsushi-san."

"Good night, sir."

She turned around again and walked away, conscious of the eyes burning in her back. She would have to proceed very carefully from now on. She'd underestimated her opponent once, but she wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

Next time she would kill Uchiha and this time nobody would be able to stop her.

* * *

She received her last chance during the fair.

The fair itself wasn't exactly small; it took up more than five streets in the centre of the town and was filled with all kinds of little food stands, allowing people to get a taste from the traditional food of other places, and various forms of entertainment. You could try fishing out balloons filled with water out of a water tank without letting them burst apart; you could measure your strength by slamming a hammer down – all without using your chakra, naturally – throw kunai and shuriken at targets in order to win something; children could ride on ponies or cuddle with puppies …

There were stands selling kimonos and yukatas and regular clothes; others sold children's toys and books while others showed new weapons, trying to entice people to buy them.

The streets were utterly packed with people, enjoying the festivities and the delicious food and drinks freely available to them. In just a short couple of years Otogakure's fair had become famous and people from faraway travelled to the town in order to enjoy it.

Takara didn't care about it. She made sure to show her face, just in case, tasted some food from the stands, showed interest in the books and the weapons, but her mind was elsewhere, preparing herself for the right moment.

She couldn't afford any more mistakes. When she would strike, there would be no interruption, nothing to hold her back from completing her mission once and for all.

She just needed to be patient and wait until the moment presented itself. She wouldn't get a better opportunity than during the fair.

Gossip had informed her that Uzumaki loved the fair and could often be found there until the early morning hours, either eating, holding a drinking contest or trying his hand at some of the games. Uchiha on the other hand was more reserved and only showed up for a little while before going home. She just needed to wait until he went home and then she would strike. With Uzumaki at the fair, there would be no one standing between her and her target.

She kept an eye on Uchiha during the late afternoon and could barely suppress a grin when she saw him drinking one alcoholic drink after the other. The gods were smiling down upon her today it seemed: Uchiha was making her job that much easier by inebriating himself.

When dusk fell, she discreetly left the fair and sped towards Uchiha's house, wanting to be in place before the man would be back. She entered his house as soon as she had made sure nobody had seen her and made a beeline for the bedroom. There was a wardrobe there, large enough to hide in; she'd discovered that when sweeping through the house a while ago. This time she wouldn't give anyone the chance to stop her.

She pushed some jackets aside and climbed into the wooden wardrobe, leaving the doors slightly ajar. Her eyes quickly adjusted in the dark and before she settled in a comfortable position, she pulled a kunai from her pouch and studied it carefully, smiling when the deadly sweet scent curled up in her nostrils.

Even the lightest scratch with this kunai would be more than enough.

Just a bit longer and then she would finally complete her mission. She settled in to wait.

* * *

She rose to attention when the door of the bedroom slammed open and raised both eyebrows when she discerned two pair of footsteps instead of only one. Peeking through the small gap, she saw Uzumaki and Uchiha coming into view with the former dragging the latter to the bed.

"You still can't hold your liquor, why do you keep trying?" Uzumaki asked exasperatedly and dumped Uchiha roughly on the bed.

The Otokage grunted something and slung his arm across his face.

"You're going to have a killer headache tomorrow and I'm not going to feel sorry for you at all because I warned you," Uzumaki told him and huffed, pulling up Uchiha's legs and dropping them on the bed.

"Shut up," Uchiha said, voice rough.

"Brilliant come-back. Sleep it off; I'm going back to the fair. There's a new ramen dish I still want to try out," Uzumaki said and left without another glance back.

Takara watched Uchiha roll himself to the middle of the bed and flop down with a groan. He scratched his nose before crossing his ankles. He stilled after a while and his breathing deepened, signalling he was falling asleep.

_This was her moment._

Alcohol numbed the senses – that was one of the main reasons why shinobi were discouraged from partaking in it. Uchiha in a drunken stupor and fast asleep – she would never get a better opportunity than now.

Adjusting her grip on her kunai, she lowered her body in the right position, waited five more seconds and then launched herself out of the wardrobe, straight onto the bed. Landing on it, she struck down immediately, aiming for his throat, hatred blazing up.

A gasp was torn out of her when the kunai was kicked out of her hand and before she could jump away, a hand shot out and tightened around her throat, choking her. Eyes watering, she started kicking and punching at him; the edges of her vision growing black. She made the mistake of looking down and involuntarily whimpered with fear when she met swirling, red eyes.

"So much for a second chance, huh?" he growled and his other hand started to glow; a ball of rapidly whirling wind forming and spinning around. It slammed straight into her chest, sending her flying through the air.

She smacked against the wall hard and landed in a crumpled heap on the floor, gasping for air. Raising up on trembling arms, her vision spun when she scanned the room for him. The bed was empty and she looked wildly around, trying to locate him.

Suddenly he was right there in front of her, or no, there were at least two of them, but she couldn't say whether that was because he was using Bunshin no Jutsu or because her vision was spinning that badly.

"Getting really tired of dealing with this crap," he sighed. "You should have just listened to me, kid."

Her world exploded in a barrage of red and agony.

* * *

He stared at the smouldering burns dispassionately, listened to the laboured wheezing escaping through split, bloodied lips.

The door opening made him look away from the pitiful mess on the floor. They would need to redo the wallpaper again. Hopefully they would be able to still find the same print.

"Naruto-kun," Karin said and her eyes briefly flickered to the girl on the floor. "Are you okay?"

He snorted and stretched his arms. "Why wouldn't I be? How's he doing?"

"Pissed off. He's not happy you took this risk," she sighed, resting her hands on her hips. "Jugo's holding him back now."

"When is that bastard ever happy?" He rolled his eyes.

"Given your condition now, I can't really blame him." She pursed her lips. "What do you want to do now?"

"Get rid of her."

"Entirely or …"

"Entirely," he confirmed darkly. "I gave her a second chance despite everything and she didn't want to take it. I can't afford giving more chances."

Because next time she might come with enforcement. People like her never stopped. She would keep trying again and again, refusing to face reality. He saw that now. People with her mindset refused to listen. He felt sorry for her, but he was done giving chances. Last time he'd done that, the guy had nearly succeeded in his assassination attempt.

Naruto was done. He refused to keep looking over his shoulders, waiting for another attack of a disillusioned person. He gave them a chance to repent and they spat in his face in return.

No more.

This was his life, a life together with Sasuke, something they'd bled and fought hard for. He wouldn't allow anyone to take that away from him. He'd go to hell and back to protect what he had with Sasuke.

"All right, Suigetsu and I will handle the rest," Karin stated, adjusting her glasses.

He shook his head. "You don't have to. I gave the second chance despite knowing better. This is my mess to clean up."

"You've already done most of the work. We'll just tie up the loose ends," she said and walked to him, touching his arm. "Go be with him. He needs you more now."

For a moment he wavered, but then sighed, giving in. "Okay, I leave it to you then."

"We'll make sure she won't trouble you again," she promised; her eyes darkening when they fell on the unconscious girl.

With treatment, she might have a chance of getting better again. She wouldn't find that kind of treatment here. Not after trying to kill Sasuke.

"We really need to weed out the people who started those rumours," he muttered, stepping back and brushing his hands over his trousers. "It's getting beyond annoying and next time Sasuke might not let me take over."

She hummed. "Go public about it. Draw them all to one place and get rid of them then."

"You know the bastard won't go for that. Too much risk," he snorted.

"Well, just out stubborn him then," she said lightly and offered him a teasing smile. "Shouldn't be a problem for you."

"Oi, I'm not that bad!"

"Tell that to the amount of ramen stocked up in the closet." She raised an eyebrow.

"You can never have enough ramen," he insisted, grinning.

They both startled when a loud bang echoed through the house as if something – or perhaps someone – had been slammed against the wall.

"I'm going to show my face before he maims Jugo," he sighed.

"Good idea. I'll let Suigetsu know we've got some work to do."

He nodded and left the room, thinking they were going to need to sleep in the guest room for at least tonight. Tomorrow they would need to clean up the mess in the bedroom and figure out what to do about the hole in the wall and the ruined wallpaper.

"If you don't let me out right this instant, you're going to fucking regret it, Jugo."

Rolling his eyes at the threat, he pushed open the door of the study and clucked his tongue. "Stop threatening your friends before they decide to leave! Do you know how hard it is to find people who can tolerate your broodiness?"

Sasuke instantly whirled around, glaring at him. The Sharingan and Rinnegan flared up, glowing in the semi-darkness of the room. Jugo rose up, a dent left behind in the wall. Damn it, at this rate they would need to replace all the walls again.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Sasuke demanded, marching over to him in a couple of strides.

"Correction: she was trying to kill you, Otokage-sama," he said and grinned when the usage of his title visibly jarred Sasuke. "She won't be a problem any longer, though. I can promise that." He nodded at Jugo when the man walked past them.

The large man nodded respectfully in return and closed the door behind him, giving them privacy.

"I could have handled her," Sasuke said, scowling.

"I know you could have," Naruto sighed and rested his butt against the desk. "This was more something I needed to do, because I was the one giving her another chance. I should really know better by now," he mumbled bitterly.

Second chances couldn't be given to people like her.

"You believe in the good of people," Sasuke said, pushing open his legs so he could stand between them.

"And look how many assassination attempts that has given us so far," Naruto sighed, tilting his head back to look at him. "I'm fine, I promise," he said quietly when Sasuke studied him intently.

"This was the last one. If there's a next one, I'll get rid of it. I'm not going to risk you both," Sasuke stated, his hand resting against Naruto's stomach, where a gentle swelling had become faintly visible through his shirt. Sasuke's features softened when he felt the rounded stomach and Naruto slipped his arms around his waist.

"Maybe this one will be the last," he murmured, closing his eyes when Sasuke started caressing his stomach.

"It might be, if we sent a message along with it. You okay with that?"

Naruto had refused to send the assassins back with a message so far, finding it a tad too gruesome, but he was getting beyond annoyed with it. They needed to focus on each other, damn it, not on stupid people hellbent on believing outrageous rumours.

"Send the message. You can write whatever you like on it," he said and Sasuke smiled. "Maybe that will finally get it through their thick heads that I'm more than willing to be here with you."

"And shattering their fantasies about their poor hero being forced to be a captive to the evil Otokage? How awful of you," Sasuke smirked.

"Learnt from the best," Naruto quipped and pressed up to kiss him, feeling the other man relax in his hold.

Those people had no idea what they were talking about. Him, Sasuke's prisoner? Hah! The only thing Sasuke had captured from him was his heart and he was more than happy to let him have it.

If being loved and cherished and protected by Sasuke meant being his captive, Naruto never wanted to leave his prison.

"I love you," Sasuke whispered; his eyes shining like the stars outside. His hand was still pressed against Naruto's stomach and he made no move to step away.

That was completely fine with Naruto. Resting his hand on top of Sasuke's, he smiled. "I love you too."

He was one captive who would never need rescuing.

Because he'd been rescued a long time ago by the man in his arms.

**The End**

* * *

**AN2: This ended up being a bit darker than expected *coughs* But well, that's what happens when you try to go after either Sasuke or Naruto I guess *shifty eyes***

**Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.**

**I hope to see you all back in my other stories!**

**Cuddles**

**Melissa**

**P.S. For more information about my upcoming and posted stories, please visit my profile.**


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